Sitz bath therapy device



May 4, 1965 M. E. DAVIS SITZ BATH THERAPY DEVICE Filed Oct. 30, 1961 FIE.

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United States Patent SITZ BATH THERAPY DEVICE Melbourne E. Davis, 1611 E. 57th St, Minneapolis 17, Minn.

Filed Oct. 30, 1961, Ser. No. 148,477 2 Claims. (Cl. 128--377) This invention relates to improvements in a sitz bath therapy device. An essential part of the recovery treatment as from a hemorrhoidectomy or during the post partum period after childbirth is home treatment administered by the patient in the application of water treat: ment such as sitz bath treatments or sitz bath therapy.

A common device for a therapy of this nature is in the form of an annular spray member mounted on 9. toilet seat and connected by a flexible hose to a supply of water under pressure. The patient sits on this device and applies water with a spray effect. Another common device used is an inflated annular tube to support the patient as at the bottomof a bathtub. Here the patient is partially submerged to the extent of the water in said tub.

It is desirable to have the full benefit of both the partial submergence and the spray effect. The spray effect within a body of water provides a constant supply of water of even temperature without the need of changing the whole body of water; The spray eifect provides a pleasing movement of water directed to a specific portion of the persons body. This is a substantial improvement over the type of device such as one mounted on a toilet seat which provides a spray which strikes the body directly. It is obvious that applicants device represents an improvement over plain partial submergence in a body of water with no means for retaining the water temperature-at a desired degree in a specific area.

The heat in the water provides the most important benefit and the application of constant heatincreases the patients circulation and thus reduces pain and promotes healing. The applicants device as a result of its spray eliect conducts as has been indicated a constant supply of water of a given temperature to the affected part of the persons body and thus tends to maintain an even temperature in the water immediately in the vicinity of the person.

It is an object of this invention therefore to provide a device both to support a person in a position to be partially submerged in water, as in a bathtub, and to provide a constant supply of fresh water to a specific area, as with a spray effect, to maintain an even temperature of water.

It is a more specific object of this invention to provide a device for use to be positioned as on the bottom of a bathtub and having upstanding seat portions for supporting a person and having a spray device integral therewith to provide a constant supply of water by a spray effect with said device being connected to the water supply for the bathtub whereby a constant supply of fresh water of a given temperature is applied to the patient.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be fully set forth in the following description made in connection with the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views and in which:

FIG. 1 is a view of applicants device on a reduced scale in operating position, as in a bathtub, shown in vertical section; 1

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of applicants device with some portions shown in dotted line;

FIG. 3 is a view in vertical section taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 2, as indicated by the arrows; and

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FIG. 4 is a view in vertical section taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 3, as indicated by the arrows.

With reference to the drawings, applicants device may take various specific forms and may be formed of various suitable materials, such as plastic. The device is here indicated as being a housing of a unitary construction, such as by being formed in a mold.

Said device 10 is shown comprising a base portion substantially parallelepiped in form having side Walls 15a, 15b, 15c and 15d of small height and of adequate thickness to provide suitable support. A satisfactory length and width for said base portion has been found to be on the order of ten inches by six inches.

Upstanding from said base portion are seat portions 17 and 18 shown here to be substantially frusto conical in form with sides 17a and 18a being arcuate or convexly curved in vertical section with the facing or adjacent side portions 17b and 18!: thereof being flat and inclined upwardly in a direction away from one another to provide a substantial area of free space between said adjacent side portions.

The upper ends 170 and 180 of said seat portions are concavely curved and are of sufficient area to form comfortable seating surfaces. ,In the embodiment of the invention here shown, resilient pads 19 and 20 are indicated overlying said surfaces 170 and 18c and being secured there to as by a suitable adhesive. The overall height of applicants device has been found to be satisfactory on the order of five inches.

With reference to FIG. 3, applicants device is shown i formed having an open bottom and having the interior hollowed forming chambers 22 and 23. This results in a conservation of material and a lighter weight for the device with due regard being had for sufiicient thickness of wall structure to provide adequate support.

Formed inwardly centrally transversely of said base nutrition and extending in the direction of the open bottom is a web 24 indicated as being substantially rectangular in cross seption. Said web will be located in alignment with a poi t between said seat portions 17 and 18. Formed wit in said web and extending substantially transversely of said base portion is a passageway 25 being closed at one land, as at the side 15a, and having a nipple 27 secured at its other end as at side 15c. Said nipple may be secured as by being threaded into said passageway as indicated, or it may be secured as by the use of a suitable adhesive. Opening from said passageway 25 to the atmosphere and spaced longitudinally thereof are a plurality of vertically extending orifices 26.

With reference to FIG. 1, applicants device is indicated as being in operating position in a bathtub 12, submerged in/a body of water 13 and having a flexible tube or hose 28 to connect said nipple 27 with the faucet of the tub.

In operation, applicants device will be submerged with its hose being connected to the faucet of the bathtub. It is desirable to have the water level somewhat above the device so that the person using the device will have his lower body portion submerged. The pads 19 and 20 may be desirable but are not essential as the buoyancy of the water provides substantial support so that in effect the/full Weight of the body is not rested upon applicants device. The seat portions are shaped to give comfortable seating support and yet the adjacent side portions of sad seat portions are spaced sufiiciently apart in being inclined upwardly and away from one another sufliciently for a good application to the body of the person of the constant new supply of water provided by the spray effect of the device which results in securing unusually good therapeutic results.

In commonly used devices, such as are mounted on a toilet seat, the spray developed is applied directly to the body of the person and does not provide the soothing,

drawing and healing effect of submergence in water of suitable temperature and does not provide a constant ,enveloping application of water, and further does not maintain a constant application of Water of even temperature to the body of the person. 1 The spray issuing from the applicants device through the orifices 26 is an underwater spray and it affects the body of water immediately .thereabout by furnishing a constantv new sup- "ply of water and thus causing it to have a substantially tain. an even degree of heat in the water enveloping the patient. 6

.Thus the applicant has provided a very simply constructed yet efiicient and effective water therapy device for treatment purposes;

It willof course be understood that various changes may be made inthe form, details, arrangement and proportions of the parts, without departing from the scope of applicants invention which, generally stated, consists in a device capable of carrying out the objects above set forth, in the parts and combinations of parts disclosed and defined in-the appended claims.

2 5 What is claimed is: 2

1 A sitz bath therapy device for patients adapted to be submerged. in a bath tub, said device comprising:

(a) a base portion; H V 1 V a (b) a pair ofspaced disconnected seat portions upstanding from said base portion and connected thereto; V

(c) a passageway centrally positioned. in said base portion and extending linearly fronrthe front edge to adjacent the rear edge thereof and positioned "between said seat portions;

(d) said passageway having the end adjacent the rear edge of said base portion closed and the other end Op 4 said seat portions having adjacent upwardly divergingwall portions at either side of said passageway; 1

(f) aplurality' of spaced orifices extending from the ,7 "front to the rear of said passageway and opening upwardly from said passageway providing communication between said passageway and the .area be-, tween said divergingwall portions;

(g) means connected to the open end of said passageway adapted to provide a supply of water to said passageway and said orifices;

(It) said seat portions extending a substantial height above the top surface of said base portion so as to provide a substantial area between the diverging wall portions of said seat, the orifices, and the patient;

and 1 r (i) said seat portions having a concave upper surface so as to conform to the contacting body portions of .the patient. 6

2. A sitz bath as in claim 1 and wherein p (a) the base portion, seat portions, passageway and orifices arean integral one piece construction; and (b) said seat, portions include pads mounted on the concave-upper surfaces.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,699,198 1/29 ,Mi'llmather 4 1so 1,982,258 11/44 Martin l'28--369 X 2,637,541 5/53 Rubin 1 12866X 2,719,307 10/55 Reid 2 4-180 2,793,640 5/57 Schwartz 2 128-66 2,921,579 1/60 Monroe 128-66 FOREIGN PATENTS 21,936 11/05 Austria;

604,399 l/26 France.

RICHARD A. GAUDET, Primary Examiner.

40 RICHARD J. HOFFMAN, LOUIS R. PRINCE,

Examiners. 

1. A SITZ BATH THERAPY DEVICE FOR PATIENTS ADAPTED TO BE SUBMERGED IN A BATH TUB, SAID DEVICE COMPRISING: (A) A BASE PORTION; (B) A PAIR OF SPACED DISCONNECTED SEAT PORTIONS UPSTANDING FROM SAID BASE PORTION AND CONNECTED THERETO; (C) A PASSAGEWAY CENTRALLY POSITIONED IN SAID BASE PORTION AND EXTENDING LINEARLY FROM THE FRONT EDGE TO ADJACENT THE REAR EDGE THEREOF AND POSITIONED BETWEEN SAID SEAT PORTIONS; (D) SAID PASSAGEWAY HAVING THE END ADJACENT THE REAR EDGE OF SAID BASE PORTION CLOSED AND THE OTHER END OPEN; (E) SAID SEAT PORTIONS HAVING ADJACENT UPWARDLY DIVERGING WALL PORTIONS AT EITHER SIDE OF SAID PASSAGEWAY; (F) A PLURALITY OF SPACED ORIFICES EXTENDING FROM THE FRONT TO THE REAR OF SAID PASSAGEWAY AND OPENING UPWARDLY FROM SAID PASSAGEWAY PROVIDING COMMUNICATION BETWEEN SAID PASSAGEWAY AND THE AREA BETWEEN SAID DIVERGING WALL PORTIONS; (G) MEANS CONNECTED TO THE OPEN END OF SAID PASSAGEWAY ADAPTED TO PROVIDE A SUPPLY OF WATER TO SAID PASSAGEWAY AND SAID ORIFICES; (H) SAID SEAT PORTIONS EXTENDING A SUBSTANTIAL HEIGHT ABOVE THE TOP SURFACE OF SAID BASE PORTION SO AS TO PROVIDE A SUBSTANTIAL AREA BETWEEN THE DIVERGING WALL PORTIONS OF SAID SEAT, THE ORIFICES, AND THE PATIENT; AND (I) SAID SEAT PORTIONS HAVING A CONCAVE UPPER SURFACE SO AS TO CONFORM TO THE CONTACTING BODY PORTIONS OF THE PATIENT.. 